Media Statements

Minister for Energy and Water Supply
The Honourable Mark McArdle

Monday, June 18, 2012

Newman Government Committed to $80 Saving on SEQ Water Bills

The Newman Government will deliver on its election commitment to cut south-east Queensland families’ water bills by up to $80.

Minister for Energy and Water Supply, Mark McArdle said a key part of the Newman Government’s 100 Day Action Plan was to start the process of amalgamating bulk water entities as part of its Four Point Plan to Reduce Water Prices.

Mr McArdle said the task of delivering up to $80 savings on average annual household water bills was made much harder because of the shocking state of Queensland’s finances.

“I am working with my Department and other stakeholders in the south-east’s water sector to reduce water prices,” Mr McArdle said.

“That is what the Newman Government promised and that is what we intend to do.

“It is heartening to note that more Queenslanders now know Labor left them with a State Government debt that could soon reach $100 billion.

"This also means there is a significant challenge for the Newman Government to deliver $80 savings on average SEQ household water bills.”

Mr McArdle said he was currently looking at a range of measures to reduce the operational costs associated with the former Labor Government’s expensive water bureaucracy.

“Before Labor’s so called reform process, there was either one (Gold Coast Water), or two (Brisbane Water and SEQWater), water agencies involved between the dam and the household tap,” he said.

“The former Labor Government’s unilateral reforms significantly changed the old water supply system.

"They delivered one of the most expensive and inefficient water supply systems imaginable, with as many as seven publicly-owned water agencies between a water source and a household tap.”

Mr McArdle said untangling and re-structuring Labor’s very expensive, inefficient and messy water supply system would result in longer-term operational savings.